Charles 'Chuck' Chudek, 1930-2012

Journalist had a passion for golf, published Chicagoland Golfer newspaper

November 26, 2012|By Joan Giangrasse Kates, Special to the Tribune

Charles "Chuck" Chudek's passion for golf led him to publish Chicagoland Golfer in the early 1960s.

Charles Chudek's passion for golf began early. He played on the Lane Tech High School golf team in the late 1940s and worked in the golf club department of Wilson sporting goods in River Grove after graduation.

While in the Navy, he played in air station tournaments across the country, partnering with an admiral in one event.

"Chuck loved everything about golf, from being outdoors to socializing with friends to practicing a swing until you got it just right," said his wife of 53 years, Catherine. "He knew it was the kind of sport that, once you got started, you'd never get enough."

In the early 1960s, Mr. Chudek published Chicagoland Golfer, a biweekly newspaper that covered golf-related news, instruction, features and the results of local amateur and national professional golf tournaments.

Mr. Chudek, 82, who later spent 20 years in the Chicago office of New York-based Gralla Publications, died of natural causes Wednesday, Nov. 7, at a health care facility near Williamsburg, Va. He was formerly of Wheaton.

At its peak, the Chicagoland Golfer's circulation reached 25,000 and earned enthusiastic reviews from renowned amateur golfer Charles "Chick" Evans Jr. and Harry Pezzullo, former president of the Illinois section of the PGA. Pezzullo presented Mr. Chudek with an award in 1964 for his work in promoting Chicago golf.

Mr. Chudek handled everything at his newspaper, from layout, advertising and circulation to writing, editing and hiring freelance writers and photographers.

"About the only thing he loved more than golfing was writing about it," his wife said.

Born and raised on the Northwest Side of Chicago, Mr. Chudek graduated from Lane Tech in 1948 and joined the Navy in 1950, serving stateside. He was runner-up in both the 1952 Open Golf Championship at the Memphis Naval Air Station and the 1954 Whidbey Island Gallery Golf Club Championship in Seattle while stationed at the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.

Following his discharge in 1954, Mr. Chudek attended the University of Illinois at Navy Pier for two years while also working part time for the Chicago Tribune, assisting the city desk's editors and reporters and helping on the photo desk.

He enjoyed the work, and in 1959 received a bachelor's degree in journalism that included a major in advertising and a minor in reporting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Mr. Chudek worked at local newspapers in advertising for the next four years while starting up Chicagoland Golfer, then worked full time on his publication during its final two years.

"When he began publishing Chicagoland Golfer, there wasn't anything like it in the area," his wife said. "It developed a strong following. But the seasonal nature of golf in the Chicago area made it difficult to cover year-round. At a certain point, he just had to shut the paper down."

Mr. Chudek worked from 1969 to 1989 for Gralla Publications, a trade publisher of such periodicals as Contract Magazine and Kitchen & Bath Business. He was also a trade show manager for the bath and kitchen industry prior to his retirement in 1989.

"His enthusiasm for life, plus the obvious respect he had from his clients, was so obvious to everyone," said Allan C. Brown, a colleague at Gralla.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Chudek is survived by a son, Christopher, and two daughters, Cynthia Gossett and Carrie Jean Chudek-Estreich.